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I promised I would share a Canadian recipe or two in the run up to Canada Day, which is next Monday, and here is the first! It was actually Adam's idea, he asked if we could bake (boy code for "can you do it") some nanaimo bars for him to take into work on the first of July to celebrate Canada Day with his office.

Nanaimo bars are a kind of coco flavoured, nutty, crumbly, icingy chocolate bar - apparently they were named after a town in British Colombia called Nanaimo, according to Wikipedia anyway. Wherever they came from, they are delicious and beyond easy to make.

Here's the recipe from an ancient copy of Canadian Living Cookbook (with adjustments for the ingredients that aren't readily available in the UK).

base:

1 cup of melted butter

2/3 cup of cocoa powder

2 eggs lightly beaten

3 cups of digestive biscuit crumbs

2 cups of shredded coconut

1 cup of finely chopped walnuts

filling:

1/3 cup melted butter

1/4 cup milk

2 tsp vanilla

4 cups of icing sugar

topping:

250 grams of semisweet chocolate

2tbsp melted butter

1. Grease 13x9 inch pan and line with parchment paper (I used tinfoil) and leave one inch on either side of the pan for handles.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together butter, cocoa powder, sugar and eggs; stir in crumbs, coconut and walnuts. Press evenly into prepared pan. Bake in the oven at 180C for 10 minutes and leave in the pan to cool.

3. Filling: in a large bowl, stir together butter, milk and vanilla. Mis in sugar until thick and smooth. Spread evenly over cooled base and refrigerate for about 45 minutes.

4. Chop chocolate and in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of hot water (not boiling), melt chocolate with the butter. Spread evenly over the filling and refrigerate until set. Using the handles, lift out of the pan, take off the paper (or tinfoil), and cut into bars.

I bought these ones into my office yesterday and they disappeared before the morning was over. So I guess they tasted pretty good then!